Those of you who are just a bit "techy" or like Apple products have probably read all about last nights presentation. I must say the last 4 apple releases have not impressed me but yesterday i was quite surprised to see some of the possibilities that coming in the next versions for iOS and Mac OS.

As I have written before in this article (Norwegian) i stated that The Apple universe is probably the nicest jail in the world. The meaning behind it is that you are quite comfortable as long as you only own Apple products, but you are closed behind their ecosystem. Last nights launch is not going to change that by any significance but they still surprised me with some of the new developer functions they are implementing in their newest software. Firstly i am going to talk a bit about some of the new functions and finish off with what i thought was quite new to Apple and the small signs of a bit more open iOS and Mac.

OS x yosemite and ios 8

Now this is probably one of the biggest overhauls for OS X in a long time. The cosmetic updates are very nice looking and we clearly see that OS X and iOS is melting more and more together. Behind all the eye candy the Mac and iOS are given the possibility to cooperate with each other on a whole new level.

Handoff

The new Handoff function is not revolutionizing, but it is still a nice touch i must say. Handoff lets you pick up on messages, e-mails, docs or similar on another unit. So you can be working on your iPhone and continue working on your Mac. This was possible before as well but you had to pick it up from iCloud. What is new now is that you can swipe up from a handoff icon in the bottom of the screen. The function is an extension from the previous Airdrop function. Now Airdrop is not going away, Airdrop is designed to share with others around you and handoff is just for yourself and between units signed in to same account. Another function similar to this this solution is that SMS and phone calls on your phone are automatically synced to your Mac or iPad. This means that you can answer calls on your Mac, you can even start a new conversation from your Mac. So for iOS users texting with non iOS devices can now have the messages displayed on all units.

iCloud Drive

OS X iCloud Drive is going to be a powerfull cloud boost to Apple, stealing many costumers from Dropbox and Google drive, especially when you think about how many Mac´s and iOS devices are being sold and that iCloud drive is installed as stock apps/functions. Finally Photos are a part of the iCloud drive and not only your 1000 latest pictures like before but everything you have the space for.

Changes

Spotlight has been revamped both for the Mac and iOS units. On Mac it will pop up as a huge window on the screen allowing you to search faster and smarter. It will search locally, on your iCloud drive and on the internet for content which matches your search. Similar capabilities have been integrated into the search function on iOS as well.

Maps, safari and mail have all been redesigned, removing a lot of the elements not needed giving more space for content. The new mail app lets you make changes, draw arrows, create magnifying highlighters and so on directly in the compose window. if you draw an arrow it will identify the object as an arrow and replace your ugly hand drawn arrow with a proper arrow that you then again can rotate, bend and manipulate to your need. This is going to be a cool and effective function. The notifications bar now has widgets, the same or similar widgets are also going to be a part of iOS. The notification center on iOS will also feature interactive notifications, allowing you to reply on messages or calendar invites right from the lock screen, notification center or the top notification bar when these come through.

Family sharing

Now this is pretty nice, up to 6 persons in your family can share "one" account on the same credit card. Now this has been a pain for a long time when i had iOS products, everyone shared my account. I am not going to pay for the same app twice. Family share lets you download an app another family member has bought. You can have separate Appstore accounts but have the same credit card. Another cool feature is setting limits for kids or family members, so if your wee one wants to buy an app he or her will have to get confirmation by you or the cardholder. A simple notification is sent asking for permission to buy an app.

SDK-apples playground

Now what surprised me was all the news within the SDK and API´s for the apps and functions. They have launch numerous of new functions which actually seem to open up the restrictions iOS previously had. Many people have been speculating in when Apple was going to launch products for the smart home market or for the wearables market. A smart watch or activity tracker is probably coming in near future, but for now their approach is pretty smart. They have released a set of Apps and API´s allowing manufacturers in these areas to share their data and communicate with their products. Let´s briefly go through them.

Healthkit

Instead of launching their own hardware are trying to steal market share from manufacturers who are already pretty successful like Withings and Fitbit, they have actually invidet all these to sort of common ground. One of the problems with activity trackers and health products today is the fragmentation. Although Companies like Fitbit and others have open API´s allowing data to be shared between devices and wearables we are still stuck to their app for the complete data and functionality. Apple have created an app and an API with a goal to collect all the data from the different products into one app, surely enough in their ecosystem and on their terms. Still i think this was a good move for Apple. Especially when you think about the future when they are going to launch their own wearable, the shortcomings of their hardware is going to be compensated with the functions from other wearables, and the data is going to be presented in their own app.

homekit

Same as with Healthkit Apple have not released a new product for controlling your home. They have simply created a framework for developers to adapt their products towards Apples iOS. This again is a positive thing because there is not really one worldwide standard out there, iOS HomeKit might just be able to unify all of the popular products out there into one system. Again this is off-course just within Apple´s ecosystem so it does not help anybody with a windows or Android unit. But still if someone can pull it off it is Apple. iOS has the biggest majority in it´s install base, Android is bigger but is far more fragmented. So developers and manufacturers are going to adapt their products to Apple because of the huge amount of people using that specific system. So is it a breakthrough for home automation? I hope so for iOS users and for this area in the industry. The sad thing though is that it is still going to be closed down and have loads of restrictions the way a controlled system like iOS is designed to be. We can at least hope that this will be the start of something that will force manufacturers to find somewhat of a standard an cooperate.

CloudKit

The CloudKit allows developers to develop apps and services using Apple´s own servers and cloud storage systems. So a small start up with a rapid growing user base do not need to thing about server storage capacity or transfer limitations.

Touch ID

Another welcoming feature announced last night was the possibility for developers to integrate Touch id into their apps. This will allow the user to make payments, log in and authenticate just by using the fingerprint sensor in the device. The fingerprint id is never shared with the developers, it is still securely stored within the devices main chip. I think we are going to see a lot of apps integrating this possibility in near future.

Camera and photo

Another welcoming feature is more openness within the camera and picture setup. Apple will now allow developers more access to camera functions such as exposure, focus and white balance. So an app like Instagram for example can use Apples own system for camera controls. Another feature is that they have opened up the photo library more. Apps no longer need to import and export photos to and from the library they are given direct access. So if you are using an app for editing photos it will be saved directly to the photo library.

swift

Apple have also created a brand new programming language. The language is suppose to minimize programming code and be a whole lot more effective than todays standard. For people who are new to programming this is going to simplify creating apps a whole lot.

What do you think?

Apple keynotes are always very optimistic and have a way of presenting their features and products making you believe it is going to change the world. This is no secret, they are known for it. Although i do not own Apple products i must say that this keynote was looking more promising than in a very long time. What do you think?